Dave Aju

Dave Aju is an American producer and DJ from San Francisco. Coming from a family of a jazz musician, Marc had some formal training and played drums for five years and piano for three years, also trying out a few other instruments. His biggest inspiration came through a brother, though, who introduced him to mixing and beatmatching, and Marc finally saw a sampler as a superior artistic tool combining all sounds and providing a creative freedom not available with a full commitment to one particular instrument. Largely influenced by hip-hop, Dave often mentioned such artists as Pete Rock, KRS-One and The Pharcyde alongside with anyone from Cajmere to Moodymann amongst his influences.

Dave Aju released his first full-length album Open Wide in 2008 on French label Circus Company, which has been releasing most of his records since the debut The Unorthodoctor EP in 2003. Every single sound on Open Wide originates from his mouth; no other sources were used. The album became a huge success, highly praised by critics and nominated for the prestigious Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. For his Mercury Soul debut Dave performed 6 songs live with string accompaniment from his 2019 Album TXLAX.